NCL-norwegian Pros & Cons!?

[mlb087]

I have never cruised before and my bf and i are thinking of going on a cruise (he's been once with carnival). We are both in our early 20's (21+)

and are unsure of the best cruise line. right now we are debating between

NCL RCCL and Carnival.

 

What is most important to us:

Cleanliness (well kept)

Ports and shore excursions

 

-we are probably going to end up going to the carribean... beyond that i'm am still unsure, so ANY advice is welcome!!:p

[newmexicoNita]

I have never cruised before and my bf and i are thinking of going on a cruise (he's been once with carnival). We are both in our early 20's (21+)

and are unsure of the best cruise line. right now we are debating between

NCL RCCL and Carnival.

 

What is most important to us:

Cleanliness (well kept)

Ports and shore excursions

 

-we are probably going to end up going to the carribean... beyond that i'm am still unsure, so ANY advice is welcome!!:p

Welcome to CC and the NCL board:

 

All NCL ships are among the top in cleanliness or in most cases anyway. The Pearl just got a 100% which isn't easy...As for ports and shore excursions, I would recommend, this being your first cruise you book your excursions through the ship or go to the roll call section, after you decide on the ship and plan tours with others sailing the same ship..

 

NCL ships are very port intensive, that is one of the reasons we choose them so often. It isn't the only reason I may add.

 

The Caribbean is a great place to start your cruising days, better than any other itinerary I can think of. As for the 3 lines you are considering, Carnival will be the ship with the youngest crowd, but I have found their ships not quite as well maintained. The cabins are a little larger than NCLs and RCIs. The biggest difference between RCI and NCL is freestyle dining. Other than that the lines are very similar. We lean toward NCL cause overall we have had better service with them than RCI but many will say the opposite..

 

Nita

[Sexxxy Beast]

From the reviews i read, NCL is a very good value. Young people arnt so picky about food and service i think, so it is good for people our ages.

[trish1c]

To me the biggest difference between the 3 lines is Freestyle. I do not like being told when, where & w/ whom to eat. Thus we are big NCL fans.

I've never cruised Carnival but I don't think I'd like all the activities by the pool. RCI was OK & I'd go back. I would give RCI's private island, Coco Cay, the edge over NCL's Great Stirrup Cay; I found the beach too narrow & crowded.

Most people on this board are NCL fans. That's why we're here. Try posting this Q on a general board like Ask a Cruise Question.

You can't really go wrong with any of them. Figure out where you want to go & when you want to leave. You are sure to find at least one ship from each line that goes there. There will be some variation. If there is some port you really want to visit, book that ship. If all else is equal, I'd take the lowest priced cabin but that's just me.

[terrymtex01]

We are huge fan's of NCL's, and while they are great in the areas you say are important to you, one thing I wanted to point out is if you want to be around more people your age, you probably would be better off on Carnival. You did not mention that as something important so if it isn't, give NCL a try and I'm sure you will have a good time. I just feel, in general, the majority of the pax's we have seen on NCL are mid 30's and up , as opposed to Carnival where the overall pax seemed to be a bit younger.

[Dukegirl5577]

I've been on NCL twice and Carnival once. Have another NCL cruise booked for this spring. Have not cruised on RCCL.

 

We loved NCL, mostly because of the Freestyle approach. We really appreciated being able to choose where, when, and with whom to eat. The majority of the time, DH and I would just prefer to dine with just the two of us (and I love being able to get a table for 2!), although occasionally we've become friendly with another couple we met onboard and agreed to meet for dinner that night, which can be accomodated with Freestyle. If you're on a line with a specified dining assignment, you're stuck with the same people night in and night out and if you don't like them, you can ask to be moved, but it can't always be accomodated and then you have the awkward issue of what happens if you run into the people you asked to be moved from.

 

Another benefit to Freestyle is not having a set time to eat. Most cruise lines have only 2 seatings: 6 pm or 8 pm. If the ship doesn't leave port until 6 pm and you're assigned to the early seating, then you'll always need to rush back to shower and change before dinner, cutting your time in port short. Personally, I'd rather get the extra time in port. And if you choose the 8 pm seating, well, personally, after a day spent active in port (and DH and I tend to be extremely active...we're not good at relaxing!), I'd be starving by 8 pm!

 

So I'd much prefer to eat roughly 6:30-7. Yes, that is a very popular time and many other cruisers will be heading to dinner at the same time on NCL, but I've never had longer than a 15 minute wait...I often wait much longer than that on land! And usually we've gotten right in. And if you see the maitre d' earlier in the day, often you can get a reservation (yes, even at the main dining room, and even for a table for 2) for the time you want. (Don't go to the reservations desk...that's for booking reservas for the specialty restaurants...if you want the main dining room, go straight to the dining room.)

 

As for cleanliness, I found NCL to be much cleaner than Carnival.

 

As for time in port, I found that Carnival tends to have more random days at sea than does NCL. If you like days at sea, then that might be better for you, but I much prefer to have more port days. Yes, I like being on the ship, but the reason I choose particular itineraries is because I want to go there. I like to have as few full days at sea as possible. I know others feel differently, but frankly I get a little bored just laying out by the pool.

 

Carnival seemed to be more party-oriented than NCL, which was fine for the particular cruise we took on them, because it was a wedding cruise for our friend's wedding, so it was fun to go with a big group of people. But for a cruise for just me and DH, I much prefer NCL. It's less noisy and in-your-face. That being said, we're in the our early 30s, so maybe when we were in our early 20s we would have preferred the party atmosphere. Who knows?

[Toyz711]

personally, i think how clean a ship is:

1) in the eyes of the beholder

2) dependent on the crew, at the time/place/ship (crews rotate between other ships/on vacation/etc...some crew changes every cruise)

3)newer ships appear cleans simply because they are still shiny! on older ship, some people think the normal wear/tear as dirty.

 

most of the ships offer the same excursions, some through the same company. to learn more about the ports, you need to go to the port-of-calls boards:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

 

each cruise is totally different from the last one, even if on the same ship!

that being said, what i love about NCL is the fact that it's easy to get a table for 2, when i want it. don't have to wait to eat or eat too early.

don't have to hurry back from a beach to clean up to make my dining assignment.

[Dukegirl5577]

what i love about NCL is the fact that it's easy to get a table for 2, when i want it.

 

We love that, too. A lot of people used to the traditional set dining times on cruise ships complain that they missed not getting to meet other people at dinner, but personally we love having the opportunity to dine more privately. It's our vacation...if I'd rather just talk to my husband during dinner, I should be able to. I shouldn't be forced to make small talk with random strangers who I will likely never see again after the trip.

 

If you like meeting new people and find that to be one of the draws of NCL, then Freestyle Cruising probably isn't for you...although you still always have the option of asking the maitre d' to seat you with other people. But if you want to enjoy your dinner in peace, then it's great to be able to get a table for 2!

[Leafpeeper]

We enjoy cruising on all of the cruiselines you mentioned. There are pros and cons to each.

 

We only sail Carnival for short 3 or 4 night cruises because they usually only have one dining room and no other restaurants except for a horrible buffet. You must eat at an assigned time with the same people at the same table same waiter every night. If you don't like the menu, there isn't much else to choose from. We generally take Carnival when the price is too good to resist for a weekend cruise. However, this year we found a much nicer NCL ship with multiple restaurants for a better price than Carnival. NCL stops at more ports during your cruise--which we prefer.

 

We just got off a RCCL cruise in November. We had a lovely ship and enjoyed our cruise. However, DH was not happy with the food menu in the dining room. He prefers NCL dining because if you don't like a menu one night, you can get up and go somewhere else to eat. Each restaurant has their menu posted outside their entrance so people can see what's for dinner early in the day.

 

We love the food on Princess. We also enjoy the Princess ships with the outdoor movie theater. However, the specialty restaurants are more expensive than NCL so we don't take advantage of dining in different venues as often on a Princess cruise.

 

What stands out for us on NCL is the entertainment. We were not pleased with the entertainment on our last RCCL cruise.

 

DH enjoys the casino on NCL. I like the fact that there is a hallway around the casino on most NCL ships so I don't have to breathe smoke when I pass by. Best of all, NCL has hand sanitizing machines throughout their ships--at elevators, casinos, theater, restaurants--just about everywhere. Every cruiseline should follow NCL's example to prevent the spread of germs.